42nd Street

42nd Street is a mental health charity in Greater Manchester, UK, for young people aged 11–25 years old. It provides free and confidential services to young people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and emotional wellbeing, by offering young person-centred and rights-based approaches. It was established as a drop-in service in Manchester city centre in 1980 and moved around 2012 to its current location, the Space Youth Intervention Centre, 87-91 Great Ancoats Street, Manchester M4 5AG. Brief History The organisation was established in 1980 as a self-governing project of the Youth Development Trust (1963–1991) in response to the growing concern about the lack of mental health services available to young people in Manchester. A group of parents, professionals, and young people came together to create a service that would provide a safe and supportive environment for young people to talk about their problems and access the help they needed. Initially 42nd Street operated as a small drop-in centre at 22 Lloyd Street in the city centre of Manchester, offering advice, support, and counselling to young people aged 13–25 [later aged 11–25]. 42nd Street was founded in response to the lack of self-referral mental health services for young people to provide a service that young people can access themselves where they would not be stigmatised or pathologised because of the mental health problems they are experiencing. In the mid-1980s the premises were used without permission at weekends for covert surveillance of the LGBTQ+ community in nearby streets by Greater Manchester Police, which was discovered by chance when project staff needed to access their offices out of hours, as they described in a book shortly afterwards. Creativity and Wellbeing One of the key features of 42nd Street's work is a focus on creativity and the arts. The organisation believes that creativity can be a powerful tool for young people to express themselves, explore their emotions, and develop coping strategies. To this end, 42nd Street has offered a range of creative arts projects, including drama, music, art, and dance.